Directed by:
Ali AbbasiCinematography:
Nadim CarlsenComposer:
Martin DirkovCast:
Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Jörgen Thorsson, Viktor Åkerblom, Matti Boustedt, Andreas Kundler, Ibrahim Faal, Henrik Johansson, Sten Ljunggren, Ann Petrén (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Tina is a customs agent with a nose for trouble. She can literally smell human emotions, which is a handy talent for sniffing out suspicious border crossers. But when a mysterious male traveller's scent confounds her, she's faced with hugely disturbing insights about who she is and what she wants. (MUBI)
Videos (3)
Reviews (8)
It’s important you find out the least possible about this film prior to watching it. Knowing the background of the characters in advance would definitely ruin the surprises in store for you. With its raw repulsive scenes and slow tempo, Border offers a really bizarre and grim experience that will put off more viewers than it will gain. The filming is subtle and the acting performance, splendid (kudos to the central duo of actors). That being said, a swifter pace of the storyline wouldn’t hurt. My appreciation is scaled down due to the long-winded ending, yet I enjoyed the film’s singularity. [KVIFF 2018]
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Border has a detective storyline that strays into festival-movie bizarreness with diverse thoughtgerms.
Despite what seems like elements of fantasy, we remain firmly rooted in reality, which makes
it all the more frightening and disturbing. The creator calls it “Nordic realism”. It is a psychological,
physical and, in some places, perhaps even repulsive experience for some, but always socially
reflective and comrehensible from all angles. Plus, there’s some comic relief, which is probably
deliberate, but I’m not sure. [Cannes]
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I caught up with this Scandinavian oddity and to my surprise it's decent and recommendable. The story focuses on Tina, who looks weird and is quite creepy, her life is not worth much and she works as a customs officer at an airport. But she has specially developed olfactory abilities and she can smell fear, guilt and other emotions from people, and thanks to that she catches some pedophiles. Her life changes, when she meets Vore, who has a similarly repulsive appearance, and they begin a sort of bizarre romance (the sex scene with them is very repulsive indeed). The film mixes multiple genres, it's interwoven with Norse mythology, it manages to shock (it gets quite intense at the end), and the whole thing is so strange, interesting and novel that I really enjoyed it. Scandinavian weirdness with all the trimmings. 7/10.
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An honest, bizarre festival film, combining dark Scandinavian crime and bestial romance with fantasy mythology. Despite many WTF moments, the film is clearly rooted in our reality and based on multi-layered motifs reflecting current world events, especially regarding the issue of gender and sexual identity and approaches to minorities in society. This genre mix is directed with a firm hand, but in parts it deserves a brisker pace. Nevertheless, its originality, courage and uniqueness are definitely appreciated. And the great masks and acting performances of both title characters.
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My first impressions of the film were very mixed. Interesting story, interesting characters, very beautiful style, but something was missing. After revealing important insights to everything that happens to the two main characters, my experience of the film was strong. The fact that we don't know these facts from the beginning of the film is tremendously cool, because the film allows you to wake up your thoughts and experience Tina's story through her eyes - in not knowing. I give tremendous praise to the film's conclusion - or rather, the metaphorical last third of the film - for its engaging take on an ordinary story.
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